Cracks in bottle necks after capping?

mongoose33 · Dec 20, 2015

The good news: the beer tastes great even though it's flat and warm--I can't wait for it to carbonate and condition.

The not-so-good news: When I was capping bottles I put a little too much oomph into the capper (it's the two-handled one), and created some hairline cracks in some of the bottle necks.

Here's the most severe:

A few have just one hairline crack, a couple have a crack running around the neck just below the place the capper hooks to, a couple have vertical cracks.

Am I in danger of having blowouts with these bottles? Might the pressure just leak out from the cracks? FWIW, I used about 4 oz. of priming sugar in 5 gallons, so I'd expect a little less than normal carbonation.

As a precaution I'm going to segregate those bottles in a plastic container so if one of them goes, it'll be contained.

I did learn a lesson--I don't have to crank down as hard on the capper as I thought.

agrazela · Dec 20, 2015

You need to spend less time at the gym and more time drinking!

Good call separating and containing.

slym2none · Dec 20, 2015

I would not use, I'd probably even get the beer out of those bottles now...

*eek*

MaxStout · Dec 20, 2015

Good catch. Those wing cappers can be forceful, pulling/pushing at the tops of the bottles.

You might want to consider tossing those. No way of knowing if tiny pieces of glass had popped off inside. It's not worth the risk.

JimRausch · Dec 20, 2015

I've had the same thing happen in the past. Those bottles may not blow, but they probably won't carbonate, because hey guess what, there's a leak. I'd put those in the fridge now, open them carefully and drink those 1st.
It did take me a few batches to finetune the amount of force needed to seal without getting a few cracks. I now crimp, rotate a 1/4 turn and crimp again to make sure I have a good seal.

BlackFurnaceBrewing · Dec 20, 2015

When I bartended back in the day, a broken glass or bottle meant we emptied all of the ice bins even if it occurred at the other end of the bar. Glass shards and digestive tracts do not play nice together. Dump the bottles and do not look back.

msayler · Dec 20, 2015

My brew bro muscled some unnoticed cracks in to a couple bottles of his black IPA. Neither of us noticed until I went to open one and got a nice handful of gashes on my left appendage. Basically the last 2 inches of the neck came off in a jagged, glassy mess.